serious heart felt question to those that are ONLY involved with the 2600

[courtesi]

I would be interested to hear from individuals who ONLY collect/play 2600 systems games. Why only the 2600? What is wrong / or what makes you less interested in other consoles?

 

I don't mean to turn this into "2600 rules, you suck!" thread. I am simply interested in hearing why some people are only interested in the 2600 and disenchanted - uninterested in others.

[fire!fire!]

I only collect and play the 2600 system because it was the system that was available when I started playing video games and I got one for Christmas. I still have the same console I got as a gift and now I have 5 more. YIKES they are like rabbits.

 

I don't consider myself a "gamer" per se. The only other analogy that I can think of is this: I have no interest in an iPOD. I have a perfectly good radio, a decent CD collection and some vinyl. Life is GOOD.

[supercat]

I don't mean to turn this into "2600 rules, you suck!" thread. I am simply interested in hearing why some people are only interested in the 2600 and disenchanted - uninterested in others.

 

IMHO, the Atari 2600 has more undiscovered potential than any other system. I can't imagine anyone coming up with a new game--no matter how impressive--for something like the PS2 that would have me saying "Wow--I never would have thought the PS2 could do that!" Basically, I'd expect the PS2 to be able to do just about anything given the proper programming, so very little would surprise me.

 

By contrast, the 2600 seems on the surface a much more limited platform. And indeed, it genuinely is a rather limited platform. And yet its limits are rather harder to pin down than one might expect.

 

Unlike most systems, where the display controller is responsible for determining what can be displayed where, on the 2600 such determinations are entirely up to the CPU (and thus the user's code). In a very real sense, the Atari lets the programmer build his own display controller. No other system offers such flexibility. To be sure, newer systems have hardware display controllers that are more powerful than anything a 2600 programmer could dream up, but the 2600's sheer flexibility is astounding.

 

The Atari 2600 is perhaps the most incredible example of engineering serendipity ever in the video game industry. It was designed merely to get Atari's foot in the door, and yet it turned out to be more powerful than the designers could have possibly imagined (indeed, it's more powerful than quite a few arcade machines that cost many times as much)

[D.Yancey]

There are so many great games (with even more game variations on each cart) for the 2600 that I still haven't mastered them all yet. If I ever do, then I'll move on the the next system.

[Recycled]

 

IMHO, the Atari 2600 has more undiscovered potential than any other system. I can't imagine anyone coming up with a new game--no matter how impressive--for something like the PS2 that would have me saying "Wow--I never would have thought the PS2 could do that!" Basically, I'd expect the PS2 to be able to do just about anything given the proper programming, so very little would surprise me.

 

By contrast, the 2600 seems on the surface a much more limited platform. And indeed, it genuinely is a rather limited platform. And yet its limits are rather harder to pin down than one might expect.

 

 

 

Exactly.....I get blown away when I experience what things people can have this system do. Who would of ever thought Solaris was possible, let alone Lady Bug?

 

The biggest reason though, for me, is that I find 2600 games fun to play....more so than any other system.

[Gregory DG]

Why the 2600? Because it's still fun after all these years! I enjoy playing the new homebrews and watching people create new gadgets and stuff. But even without all that, nostalgia plays a big part for me.

[Lucky Man]

I think for me there's a lot of nostalgia associated with the 2600 since it was my first and only videogame system, but I think it also has to do with how fun the games are.

 

I've often wondered why I have no interest in other game systems and other than the fun factor I think it may have to do with the graphics and sounds. I was reading someone else's comments about this in the forums regarding how the graphics in Atari games are reduced down to their essence. There's nothing extra going on on the screen (of course, because the programmer didn't have the space for it ), just the necessary components required for the game. It's like art stripped down to it's basics. And who doesn't love the great sounds they put into this fantastic machine? I picked up a few classic game plug 'n plays (does that disqualify me from this thread?) and realized that the Atari game simulations weren't anywhere near as fun without the original sounds.

 

But, of course, that pop the cartridge in and have immediate, crazy fun is the main reason why I love this system so much. Especially with my ever increasing short attention span, the Atari is the perfect system for me.

[Cassidy Nolen]

I would say the 2600 is the only system I collect for. I play others but this is the one I have forsaken all other collections to focus on. It is simply perfection of its day. From feel to appearance to quality, it will forever be my favorite.

 

I still love other consoles and play any games I think are fun, regardless of platform. I think it would be silly not to enjoy the fruits of technology. I just am not going to drop a grand on another system to get a rare game, thats all

 

C

[ATARIPITBULL]

I am one of those people who only play Atari 2600 games.

 

The reason I play and love Atari 2600 so much is that it was a big part of my childhood in Detroit, every one of my friends had one and we would play each others games and would have tournaments all the time to see who was the king of certain games. When ever I drive by the old neighborhood I remeber the fun times I had there with my friends and Atari. On of my biggest wishes as a kid was to visit Atari headquarters in Sunnyvale California.

 

[Dusk2600]

im not only involved with the 2600 IM CHEATING ON IT WITH A GENESIS MODEL 1 :(

 

 

*Throws chair*

 

Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

[sandmountainslim]

I am one of those people who only play Atari 2600 games.

 

The reason I play and love Atari 2600 so much is that it was a big part of my childhood in Detroit, every one of my friends had one and we would play each others games and would have tournaments all the time to see who was the king of certain games. When ever I drive by the old neighborhood I remeber the fun times I had there with my friends and Atari. On of my biggest wishes as a kid was to visit Atari headquarters in Sunnyvale California.

 

Do I count as one of the Atari only people even though I play the NES a couple times per week?

I never buy NES games anymore only Atari. Am I in or am I "Multi-Game-Ual"??

WP

[rheffera]

I have a SMS and Sega genesis amd commodore 64 all with stacks of games but i havent played any of the others at all since i got my 2600 back.. the level of dust on my master system.. ah well. Why do i play on the 2600 only? because i remember it was my first ever console nad the nfun memories i have of it and emotional attachment therein. The games remain continuously fun, including ones that have no ending, like kaboom for example, it tests your self how long you can last and the mmore you play the better you get, builds hand eye coordination etc.

[PressureCooker2600]

i have practically every system and play them all equally but i think i collect MOSTLY for the Atari 2600....too many games to even count and too many joysticks too store....plus i grew up on the VCS and commodore....its my pride and joy and the games rule......ET KICKS ASS!!!!!!!!!! take that all ya'll E.T. haters

i'd say collecting and playing wise.....my NES comes in at a close second although I have triple the amount of games for the VCS compared to only around 250 for nintendo

[dwh]

So many games...so little time.

[lokidchser]

Don't know if I'm allowed to add my two cents, because I also collect Intellivision games, but my first love is the 2600 I got for Xmas. I love the simplicity of the games, and the places it took me as a kid. I could go to the front lines during WW2, the old west, or outer space, I could be driving in the Indy 500, or slaying dragons while searching for the holy grail. I could be on a quest to rescue a damsel in distress(albeit a blue skinned one, but a damsel none the less.) I could be in the Staley Cup playoffs, the Wrold Series or the Superbowl. The games brought simplicity to an art form, leaving much more to the imagination than the games that came after it. Its for these and many more, that most of my efforts go into the 2600, as well as most of my free time playing

[XCALBR8]

For me it's the overall accessability. You can still find systems/games at thrift stores and garage sales pretty easily. The quality of the games is top notch and it's what I mainly grew up with.

I've owned a 5200 and it's a beast overall. Great games but touchy controllers and overall rarity of games/accessories/systems make this system harder to collect for. The 7800 was cool, but my power supply started buzzing and since it's proprietary I haven't gotten around to getting another power supply. Overall the 2600 is a work horse. I have kept multiple systems, power supplies, tv connectors, and joysticks throughout the years and I still seem to find more 2600 games, accessories and systems out in the wild than any other classic gaming platform.

Edited August 11, 2007 by XCALBR8

[Sayton]

I play any/everything and collect any/everything...I'm all about preserving the history that is gaming. I love gaming for what it is (and especially what it used to be)...but anyways, I digress.

 

My fav to collect for IS the Atari 2600...I dunno why, just something special about it. And of course, you get people who have played it back as a child and they know I have one...that's one of the systems they wanna play when they visit. Course not many people visit me anymore

[gospeedde]

The 2600 is the only system I have. I think the games tend to be more inventive than newer systems. I also like that the games are pretty short and have great replayability (for the most part). I'd rather play a short game over and over and get better and better at it than slug through a long game, finish it eventually, and never play it again.

 

The significantly less interesting reasons I only collect for the 2600 are that I am absolutely no good at anything that takes more than one button and that I enjoy being the only one of my friends to have an Atari collection.

[BigO]

It leaves something to the imagination.

[sandmountainslim]

The big draw of the VCS for me is the originality of the games and the fact that some skill is involved to play most of them.

ANYONE can beat a game for a modern system if they only have the patience to save the game ten thousand times and wait it out. This option is not there for the VCS gamer you have to actually work at being good at the games and that means alot to me. I also like the fact that thirty years on people are still to this day figuring out new things the machine can do, it is so much more powerful than it was thought to be when we were kids.

WP

[Deteacher]

I too am a collector of ONLY Atari 2600. My reasons are the same as many others:

 

Nostalgia: Atari was the first system I ever had. It's fun to relive those childhood memories.

 

Playability: The games are still fun to play. I love going through my collection, pulling out a game at random and playing it.

 

Originality: What other platform has such a wide array of original ideas for games?

 

Simplicity: Today's systems have so many buttons, pads, triggers...it's all too confusing for me. My motto is "just give me one stick and one button and I'm a happy man!

 

Today's systems (Xbox, Xbox 360, PS1, PS2, PS3) churn out the same stuff whenever they release a new gen system. Sure, the graphics are smoother and more detailed, but it's the same games over and over. I mean, really, what's the difference between Doom and Doom3? Better graphics, clearer sound, but it's the same game IMO.

 

I've played other systems, but the only one I've always come back to was the good ol' 2600. I ended up picking up a Wii and I do enjoy playing it because of the revolutionary style of gameplay. So now, the 2600 and the Wii get equal play time.

 

Now, if I offend anyone by my remarks, I do apologize. That is not my intention. It's only my $0.02.

[BSA Starfire]

My other big hobby is classic British motorcycles, my main transport is a 1959 Velocette. She does maybe 55 mph, has mediocre (at best brakes) has to be kick started and reqiures regular maintainance . Not a sensible transport choice maybe in 2007, but if she breaks I can fix her, she is free to tax & insurance is minimal, also does nearly 100mpg.

Now the 2600 is like this it's simple, trustworthy & makes me smile. Things in your life like that are rare.